The Sweetest Ship
by Firebeth
Summary: Harry has defeated Lord Voldemort, and has been invited back to Hogwarts to complete his seventh year. Whilest balancing his NEWTs and quidditch, romance will blossom. He will have to work hard though, because although Voldemort is defeated, there may still be someone out there that wants to see him suffer.
1. A New Possibility

Ron and Hermione left the office to talk about what had happened outside The Room of Requirement, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts. His thoughts were pleasant. He was not yet mourning the lives lost, there were many, and Harry knew that once he gave into the pain, it would consume him entirely. There would be plenty of time to mourn them when he had slept, and could pay the dead the respect that they deserved. Until then, he would be happy, knowing that his friendship was no longer dangerous now that Voldemort had perished.

His friendship was safe. Harry realised that his known friends wouldn't be harmed for it. And now that he thought about it, he was safe to love again. His mind turned instantly to Ginny. She had survived the battle, and was now eating with her family. Not the whole of her family, but most of it. Fred had been the only member of her family to have died, and George had wandered off so that he could mourn his twin in peace. He also knew that Percy had collapsed into his mother's arms, and was crying because he thought that it should have been him, and it very nearly had been.

He let his mind wander to his sixth year of Hogwarts, and the hours spent with Ginny by the lake. He could remember the way her arms felt around him, the way she looked when she was happy, and the way her lips felt against his. Remembering this made him feel lonely, even after a year. Telling her that they couldn't be together anymore had been one of the hardest things he'd done in his life, and the memory of that day haunted him. Harry had only left Ginny to protect her, because he loved her and didn't want her name to be put onto the list of people that could be used and tortured to get to him. It was bad enough with Ron and Hermione, but they were both able to defend themselves using magic, and they would be going with him.

He wished that he had explained this to her. The part about him loving her, and protecting her with his absence. Maybe then she wouldn't have been so upset, and Ron wouldn't have been so annoyed with him. It would also have meant that she would have known that he loved her if he had of died in the forest. Had he told Ginny this, perhaps it would have made searching for the horcruxes easier for him. Not the task itself, but he would have been happier that he had told her. If he could go back and have to do the same thing again, he would tell her all of this, and included how much he hated having to distance himself from her.

Harry wished he could go back to being with her.

Something clicked inside of him.

He could be with Ginny again.

He just had to talk to her.

**A/N: I am sorry this is such a weak first chapter, but this is my first fanfiction so it will hopefully get better as the story goes on. any reviews would be rather helpful, so please send me your thoughts and ideas.**


	2. Back To The Burrow

He couldn't get used to it. Being the only one. It just couldn't be must be a mistake. George woke up, his head thumping from left over traces form last night's fire whisky. Surely Fred had been right next to him, getting drunk with his twin. No, the fire whiskey had not only dulled the pain, but had allowed him to feel like Fred was there beside him, urging George to keep drinking. He knew he couldn't let it continue. After all the pain they had gone through, and the doubled amount of attention he had been given, George wanted for someone to be happy, even if he couldn't manage it himself. The pain was unimaginable, and all his mother could do when she was with George was cry. He knew that it was because she hadn't ever thought the Fred and George could be separated, even in death. He wished it was true. That they had either both died or both survived. Being alone was the worst possible state, and George didn't understand how anyone could manage it.

He had never seen Percy drunk before Fred had died, and knew that his drinking was already a problem. George only drank to be social, or when the pain was too much too bear, but Percy was rarely anything but drunk. This problem was caused, as far as anyone could tell, by guilt. Nobody could convince Percy that it wasn't his fault, and George knew that Percy wished that it had of been him that had died instead of George, because it was him that had left, and him that deserved to have died in Fred's place. George couldn't help but subconsciously agree, but he hid this agreement and bitterness, knowing that it would only make his brother worse.

For nearly a week now, he had watched Ron and Hermione, enjoying the knowledge that they were happy. It was a comfort to know that happiness still existed, and it was only himself and Percy that were alienated from this feeling. He had also watched Harry, knowing that he was trying to talk to Ginny. George had talked to Harry about it, and promised to help him if he could. Another happy couple would make the house a little brighter, and that was what the family was desperate for. George had suggested that everyone should make Ginny and Harry spend time alone together, to try and resume the relationship they had created before Dumbledore had died.

* * *

She didn't know what to do. Ginny was avoiding Harry, because she knew that if she was alone with him, he would suggest getting back together. She wanted to be with him, but still didn't know if she could cope with it, after her brother's death. At least she had the distraction of helping to look after Teddy Lupin, but Harry kept turning up. He was Teddy's Godfather after all, and she couldn't blame him for wanting to look after him. But it made it harder for her to clear her head and think.

It made it harder, watching Hermione and Ron together, being so happy to have each other. Ginny could have it too. The happiness, and the light feeling that would relieve the pain that Fred had left behind, and seeing George having to cope by himself.

She needed to have something good in her life, but was that the answer when she was looking after her distraught mother, her drunken older brother, her miserable older brother who couldn't manage mischief? She didn't know. Her best option, it seemed, was to keep putting off the moment in which she would have to make her choice.

Ginny had plans to help George re-open Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The joke shop. They had discussed it extensively, and had thought that Fred would have wanted them to keep it going in his memory, even better than it had been before. There was plenty of stock, and more than enough money to make more to fill the shelves. The Grand Re-opening was scheduled for the next week, in time for the Hogwarts owls to be sent out.

All of the old seventh years, including Ron, Harry and Hermione, had been invited to come back to retake their final year at Hogwarts along with her year, under the new Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. This meant that there would be two Head Girls, and two Head Boys. Ginny had received a letter shortly after her return to The Burrow explaining this, and asking her to be a Head Girl. She had already accepted before finding that Harry had been made Head Boy. This annoyed her because it meant that she'd have to decide whether she wanted to start their relationship again before going back to Hogwarts.

Of course, this also meant that her mother had cheered up slightly, although still being distraught, and had gotten Ginny a new broomstick, and Harry a new owl. Then there was going to be a celebratory dinner the night before their return to Hogwarts, which Bill, Charlie and Fleur would be coming for. Charlie had already written to Ginny, congratulating her on becoming Head Girl. The letter read:

_Dear Ginny,_

_ Congratulations on becoming Head Girl! You're the first one of us to make that honour. Even Percy never made Head __Girl__! I heard Harry will be Head Boy, so you'll have plenty of time to spend with your boyfriend (assuming that you have been sensible enough to allow as many rays of sunshine into your life as possible). Can't wait to see you at the big dinner!_

_ With much love and many congratulations,_

_ Charlie _

_(P.S – Don't let it get to your head, we don't want it to swell like Percy's head did)._

She was wondering if she was the only person in the family that hadn't made the assumption that her and Harry would automatically get back together. Her father and George certainly had, and her Mother was always asking her if there was anything new. It felt like she was expected to have gone to get back together with Harry the second he had defeated Voldemort, but she hadn't felt like it was safe, and certainly, she was in a daze. But, as she thought about the idea of being with Harry again, she realised that he wouldn't give up on her.


	3. The Grand Reopening

10 minutes to go. George was nervous, it was the first time the shop had been open since they had gone into hiding under the Fidelius Charm, and the first time he had opened the shop without Fred. In his mind, if it didn't go well, then he would have failed Fred, and he wouldn't be able to bare that thought. His extensive planning with Ginny helped. They had spent weeks planning for it, getting things ready and checking that the shop itself hadn't sustained any damage, so that everything was ready to go. The whole family would be there helping. Ginny had helped George decide who was doing what, and got them ready for it. They had done everything in their power to make sure that it was successful.

The queue outside stretched down Diagon Alley. George opened the doors with the flick of his wand, and the wizards and witches rushed into the shop. The noise was unimaginable, people everywhere grabbing at the stock as though it was gold. It certainly felt like gold to George, as witches and wizards were pushing galleons, sickles and knuts at him from every direction. He found that many of them had been here before, and many of them were sorry to hear that Fred had died.

He could see Ron, who was carefully watching to make sure that Hermione wasn't overwhelmed, and had already filled several money bags with coins. Behind him, the baskets of Puking Pastilles and Feinting Fancies where getting low. A few metres away, Bill was fighting his way towards the baskets with large sacks, clearly on his way to refill the baskets.

Further back into the shop, Harry was busy selling love potions to young witches. This seemed like a good plan, because, as the most desirable young wizard in the country, his approval of the use of the love potions made them feel like he was encouraging them to buy them and use them. George knew that Harry didn't care about the potions at all, but had agreed because he felt like he needed to do everything he could to make life easier and better for the family.

Fleur was stood next to the door. She was incharge ofpointing out where specific ranges were to customers that knew what they wanted, and wishing customers that were leaving the shop a good day. It had seemed like a good idea, as she was a quarter Veela, and therefore drew more wizards into the shop, in the same fashion that Harry being posted amongst love potions (and armed with antidotes to them) make witches buy them.

At the end of the day, the crowd thinned until the shop was empty of customers. The group gathered in the office above the shop, and emptied the heavy money bags of coins ready to be counted. The size of the piles filled George with courage once more. Just by sight, he could tell that he had done Fred proud.

They moved through the piles as quickly as they could, counting every last knut. George and Ginny left to inspect how much stock was left, and were delighted to find that a great deal had been sold. They spent the next while making more products, and teaching Bill how everything was made as he would be helping George in the shop until George had found another wizard of witch to work for him, and Bill had found another job. When they were confident that they had made enough for a few days, they replenished the shelves and joined the others by the fire place.

George put some powder on the flames, and they turned emerald. One by one, they stepped into the flames and said "The Burrow" loudly. The floo network was far more pleasant than apparation, so they made use of it when they could.

**A/N: Please leave reviews after reading. I don't mind if they have criticism as I will use it to try to make the writing better. Thank You**


	4. Last Night At The Burrow

Harry had packed everything into his trunk, having retrieved all of his belongings from Privet Drive, leaving his new Head Boy badge on the very top. He had a feeling that Mrs Weasley would tell him to bring it down for everyone from the Order to see, so burying it would make things harder for himself. Just as he was about to go down stairs, there was a knock at the door. He went to open it, and found Ginny outside it.

"Hi Ginny." Harry said smiling politely.  
"Do you have a moment?" She asked, walking into the room and sitting down on his bed. She had made up her mind, having re-read Charlie's letter and talked to Hermione. Their discussion had been about Ron, but Hermione had brought Harry up to see how much Ginny had thought about him, and had gone on to remind her that she couldn't hide from him for much longer, and that it wasn't fair on everyone else to not give him an answer to question he was longing to ask.  
"Sure," He replied, and hesitated for a moment, "What do you want?"  
"You've been trying to talk to me all summer, and now I'm ready to talk." Ginny wasn't sure if she had sounded rude, but Harry didn't seem offended by what she had said. She took comfort in his habit of showing his emotions through facial expressions.  
"Ok, well, Voldemort is dead now. There isn't anyone looking to kill or torture anyone that I care about anymore." He paused. Ginny knew what he was trying to say, but she wanted him to say it before she gave him an answer.  
"Go on."  
"Well I was wondering if you wanted to, err, maybe get back together, you know, like before the funeral."

Harry was looking at her too intensely. She could feel herself blushing. She left a few moments of silence before she began.

"Not too dangerous to love me anymore?" She wanted to check that he was being serious, not wanting to have to go through what happened last time.  
"I swear I won't do that again. I only did that because the thought of losing you like that was too much for me to bear, and I wanted to protect you instead of putting you on the list of people that the Death Eaters were searching for. I did it because, well, because I loved you. And I still do." That seemed good enough. It wasn't worth pushing it any further, and she was sure that he would only repeat himself in different words if she asked for more. Instead, she leaned closer to him, and spoke with barely more than a whisper.  
"That was the silver lining I was hoping for."

* * *

Downstairs, Mrs Weasley had set Mr Weasley, Bill, Charlie, George and Ron to work putting up a large tent with a long table running down the middle. Hermione and Fleur were helping finish cooking and washing the plates, grateful for being able to use magic to help them. When Ginny and Harry came down, they too were set to work helping to prepare for the remaining members of the order. Hermione noticed the way Ginny was smiling, certain that he was once more her boyfriend. It was easy for Hermione to recognise the feeling, having experienced the same happiness herself just two months earlier.

When she got a chance, she talked to Ginny, asking her what had happened. They were putting the cutlery into pairs and could easily talk in whispers without fear of being overheard.  
"So you talked to him then?" Hermione inquired  
"Yeah, I talked to him."  
"What happened then, did you get back together?"  
"Yeah, we did. I feel much better for it, and I know Harry is serious about this. If he wasn't, he would have been much less patient and would have given up by now."  
"Ginny dear, would you take these plates outside and start laying the table? And when you're done, I think it's best that you and Harry stay out there. No coming back into the kitchen for either of you." Said Mrs Weasley, ushering Ginny out of the Kitchen while motioning for Fleur to close the curtains.  
"Yes mum." Replied Ginny.

Hermione helped Mrs Weasley decorate the cake that she had baked for both Harry and Ginny with red and gold icing before going outside to find Harry. She knew that he would be overjoyed, and thought that she might find out more about what was actually said. Despite knowing that she was being nosey, Hermione was curious. Harry was normally clueless when it came to girls, but Ginny hadn't seemed annoyed with him. She saw him talking to Ron, who was laughing rather loudly.

"Hi Harry," She said, trying not to sound inquisitive, "What happened with you and Ginny?"  
"Hasn't she already told you? I'm surprised she's not running round telling anyone who'll listen." Said Ron, being typically insensitive.  
"All she had chance to say was that you had talked and got back together."  
"There isn't much more to tell." Harry informed a frustrated Hermione.  
"Not much more? Apart from a bit of snogging, I agree." Sniggered Ron.  
"RONALD!" Hermione yelled, infuriated at Ron's lack of tack.  
"It's true though. Isn't it Harry?"  
"Might be." Harry's sheepish grin made Hermione want to scream at them. However, she contented herself with a stern look.  
"Well, I'm happy for you."

* * *

Harry and Ginny sat side by side at the table. He could feel the warmth of her body next to his, and spent most of his energy trying not to look too pleased that she was next to him. They had agreed earlier to wait until after dinner to tell Ginny's family that they were together again, and that they would keep details to minimum for everyone other than Hermione and Ron.

The dinner was spectacular, though Harry expected part of it was to do with how happy he was. Mrs Weasley had outdone herself, making a pumpkin pie, with a large selection of vegetables to go with it. Harry ate his with much delight, complimenting the food and quickly clearing his plate. He noticed that Ginny had made the same error, and had gained several confused looks from the people surrounding them.

Ginny nudged him when everyone else had finished. It was time to tell everyone.  
"Thank you Mum, for that spectacular dinner." Ginny said, started.  
"Yes, thank you. Err, me and Ginny have something we wanted to tell everyone."  
"We thought that you might like to know that we're going out again." Everyone grinned at them.  
"About time!" Yelled George, who Harry knew was pleased to see that Ginny was happy again.  
"To Ginny and Harry!" Said Charlie, lifting his butter beer in the air and winking at his little sister.

After being toasted for their recovered relationship, they were both sat down and blindfolded. Harry found Ginny's hand next to him. Someone then took the blind folds off, and they found that Mrs Weasley had placed a large cake in front of them. It had been decorated to look like the Gryffindor quidditch robes, with the house badge behind them. They were told to cut the cake open together while Mr Weasley took photos of them. When they cut it, red and gold fireworks were set off. These were obviously no heat fireworks from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes that George had helped to make them work. Harry was amazed. He had never dreamed that this moment would happen, nor that there would be so much effort put into it. He hoped that time would stop, and that he could stay this happy forever.

But of course, it didn't. All too soon, Mrs Weasley was parcelling them all off to bed. Bill and Fleur were going back to shell cottage, Charlie going with them as it was easier for him to fly back to Romania from there in the morning. Percy was returning to his apartment in London, where he spent his nights alone. This left Ron in his room alone, with Harry in Percy's old room. Ginny, who was sharing with Hermione, had come up to Harry's after she had fallen asleep. Ginny wanted to spend time alone with Harry before going back to Hogwarts, where it would be harder to get away from people. Harry understood when she had explained all of this to him.

"We're going to be busy constantly. Head Boy and Head Girl, very unlikely to escape like we used to." Harry stated, trying to show her that agreed with her. He needed to make the biggest effort he could. He needed to show her that he truly did love her, and that nothing could change that.  
"I know, but we can delegate to our eight Prefects from Gryffindor, therefore buying us a little more time. It won't be much, but it will be more. Besides, we've always got The Room of Requirement if we need it."  
"You are brilliant, you know that?" He said, leaning towards her and kissing her lightly.  
"Thank you." She whispered.

**A/N: I just want to say that I've never attempted to write a love scene before, and I've never been in one myself so any reviews or help would be highly appreciated. Please tell me if I did anything wrong so that I can try to fix it for you.**


	5. On Board The Hogwarts Express

They had been lent cars from the Ministry of Magic to get to Kings Cross. Ron had sat between Hermione and Harry on the way to the station, and had used the time to remind Harry of the rules with Ginny. Although he was delighted to see that Ginny was happy, he wanted to protect her and spare himself from wanting to throw up whenever he saw them together. The night before, he had sat up, writing down his rules on a piece of parchment ready to read out to them individually. They read:

_1. No snogging when I'm around (brief goodnight kisses acceptable)_

_2. No over descriptive descriptions of snogging to me_

_3. No going overboard (please don't make me give you a list for this one)_

_4. Preferably avoid unnecessary shows in public. I may walk through the corridors for no reason._

_5. Don't break her heart (only read to Harry)_

_6. Don't break his heart (only read to Ginny)_

He had asked Hermione to read them before he showed Harry and Ginny, so that she could check what he was asking for was reasonable. Ron had been mildly annoyed to find that she had disagreed with the idea of rules entirely, and that he would have to also apply the same set of rules to their relationship. So he simply changed them to:

_1. No snogging in front of me, although brief kisses are fine._

_2. Don't break each other's hearts._

He had found that these rules should be enough, without restricting himself. Not that he was prepared to go overboard in the way he had wanted to rule against, but Hermione had said that Ginny would probably jinx him if he read it out, so he had removed it. He trusted Harry to look after his little sister anyway.

Harry had taken the two rules very well, and Ron was pleased. He didn't want to fall out with harry, who seemed to understand the he was dating Ron's sister, which meant that he had to treat the matter with delicacy. Now he just had to tell Ginny, who he hoped would respond similarly to the way in which Harry had reacted, especially if he told her that he and Hermione would be following the rules around her.

* * *

"You have rules?" Ginny was infuriated. Her brother was being unreasonable, and limiting her time with Harry further.  
"Yes."  
"That you expect me to follow?"  
"Yes. You won't…" Ginny was glaring at him. The only thing keeping her from shouting was the crowd on Platform 9 ¾, and the hand that Harry was holding.  
"I don't care if you snog Hermione in front of me or not. It doesn't make any difference to me at all. I don't understand why you're so touchy about it!"  
"Now that's enough. Honestly Ron, your sister is old enough to look after herself, and you know that. Ginny, do try to respect your older brother. I know it might not seem fair, but it won't do you any harm." With one last glare at Ron, she hugged her mother. Her mother had more or less said that she shouldn't try to upset her brother, but had admitted that he was being unfair.  
"I'll try. Bye Mum" She knew her mother wouldn't expect them to come home that Christmas, because it would be the last one they could have at Hogwarts.  
"Bye dear." Her mother released her, and proceeded to hug Harry, Ron and Hermione.

They crowded onto the train into the carriage reserved for Prefects, Head Girls and Head Boys. Harry stowed Ginny's trunk as well as his own, before they found out who the other Head Girl and Head Boy were. The other Head Girl was Susan Bones from Harry's year, and the other Head Boy was Thomas Turpin, a Ravenclaw from her year. There wasn't a Slytherin Head Boy or Head Girl as Professor McGonagall thought that it would be hard to pick one without picking the daughter or son of a death eater, as most of them had been sorted into Slytherin. However, they still had their prefects, who would look after the house. Ginny felt Harry tense beside her at the sight of Draco Malfoy. He was a Slytherin Prefect, and Harry had saved his life twice during the Battle of Hogwarts. His parents had deflected from Voldemort's side when they had found that their son was still inside the castle, wishing to protect him rather than fight against the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army.

Once the train had left the station, the group of prefects were organised into their pairs to check on everybody in the other carriages at regular intervals. This was to keep the other students in order, and to make sure that the first years were settled down, as they were bound to be nervous. Ginny then led Harry, Ron and Hermione down the train to find Luna and Neville in a compartment. They had managed to get a compartment near the Prefect Carriage.

"Hello Harry," Neville exclaimed standing up to greet his friends, "Hello Ginny, hello Hermione halo Ron!"  
"Hi Neville, Hi Luna." Harry and Ginny had managed to speak at exactly the same time.  
"Hang on, is there something that you four haven't told us?" Neville was eyeing them suspiciously.  
"Yes, there is. Is it not obvious? Hermione and Ron have been dating all summer, and Harry has recently asked Ginny to get together again with success." Luna observed. She had a habit of pointing out things like this, and Ginny was for once grateful for this. It had meant that she didn't have to say much about it.  
"OH. Well, that's brilliant! You're all happy!"  
"Yeah, it's great." Said Harry enthusiastically, putting his arm around Ginny. She couldn't help but lean into him.  
"Hang on how do you know that, Luna?" Ron could be so inquisitive at times.  
"Well, I've been exchanging owls with Ginny all summer, so I knew that you and Hermione had finally started dating, and I knew that Harry and Ginny hadn't started dating before her last owl which was about a week ago. However, they are very clearly together now. It wasn't at all difficult to work that out."

The rest of the journey passed peacefully, even with the visit from Malfoy. He came into the compartment alone after the witch had gone down the train with her lunch trolley. He thanked Harry for saving his life, and then left. Ginny suspected that Harry was going to have an easier time from him this year. They also got several visits from Romilda Vane and her friends. Whenever they walked past or into their compartment, Ginny put her arms round Harry rather fiercely, and ended up kissing him just to show them that Harry had a girlfriend. Ron had rather thankfully been on his round of the train, so didn't complain about Ginny and Harry kissing in public. After that, there seemed to be half the amount of people deciding to walk past their compartment.

When they got near Hogsmeade, Ginny led Harry back up to the Prefect Carriage to change into their robes. They pulled up into the station, and got off the train. Ginny immediately grasped Harry's hand as they walked towards the carriages, fearing that someone would have some love potion handy. She had asked George to supply her and Harry with antidotes to the love potions that they had sold, and had instructed Ron and Hermione to keep some in their pockets. Harry was now the most desirable young wizard, having defeated Voldemort. She suspected that without her, he would have been subjected to several doses of love potion filled food from a large selection of girls.

While on the carriages, Ginny told Harry not to accept food from any groups of girls acting like the ones on the train. She didn't want to have to explain much more to him, but he understood, and said that was part of the reason that he was so desperate to talk to her before the train ride. If she hadn't of gone and talked then, he would have cornered her at some point that night. Because Harry was so typically clueless, she found this notion quite romantic.


	6. The First Night

Harry sat down in-between Ginny and Neville, with Ron and Hermione sat across from them. He looked around at the familiar surroundings, knowing that it must have taken a great deal of effort to return the Great Hall to this state. The whole school had undergone repairs since the Battle of Hogwarts, under the eye of the new Headmistress, Professor McGonagall. Harr wondered if the Room of requirement had been restored, after the fire that had killed Crabbe and destroyed the Diadem.

Some of Ginny's friends from her own year had sat down on the other side of her, and had wasted no time in asking her about her holidays, and about harry. He thought that by the end of the feast, the whole school would have asked them. It annoyed him slightly, but also gave him a feeling of safety. If he was known to be dating Ginny, then at least some of the girls that had plans of feeding him love potion would not make an attempt. However this wouldn't go for everyone, or at least that was what Hermione and Mrs Weasley had told him. He would have to be careful what he drank and ate. Ron had suggested taking a leaf out of Mad Eye's book and start only drinking from a hipflask.

Then Professor Flitwick led the first years into the hall, and placed the Sorting hat on a stool in front of the teacher's table. It burst into song, singing about the four houses and urging them to unite whilst they rebuild the wizarding world. The Sorting Ceremony began, and assorted students made their way to their new house tables at which they would sit for the next seven years. When it was over, Professor McGonagall stood up.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I know you will all be hungry from the journey, so I will not say anything other than let the feast begin."

The food appeared on the golden plates, and there was a rush to load dinner plates with the roast beef and pumpkin stew. Harry carefully loaded up his plate, having watched Ginny waste no time in loading her own plate. He guessed she was just as hungry as he was. The food was good, and the group were quiet as they cleared their plates. When everyone was finished with the stew, it disappeared, and in its place hot steamy puddings took their place. Again, there was quiet while people ate. After this had disappeared, Professor McGonagall rose from her chair to speak.

"I would like to say a few words before I send you all to your common room. As you will all know, several months ago, in this room, Lord Voldemort was defeated. Since then, his followers have been locked away in Azkaban. We must now be putting all our efforts into rebuilding the wizarding world into something better than it was before. To accomplish this, we must unite and work as one. If we can do this, then we can ensure that when your generation is in charge, you will be able to deal with anything that might happen. I would also like to introduce our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Williamson, who has kindly joined us in his retirement from the Auror office. Now, if you like to make your way to you dormitories, I will wish you all a goodnight."

Everyone stood up, and Harry slid his hand into Ginny's, not wanting to be separated in the crowds. He could see the fifth year Prefects rounding up the first years, ready to take them up to the Gryffindor common room. Most people would go straight up to their dormitories, as they were tired from the journey, but Harry would stay up for a little while. It was normal for either the oldest prefects or Head Boy / Head Girl to stay up for an hour after all the first years gone to sleep, in case they were worried about something or missed their homes. Ginny had agreed to sit up with him for the first few nights, hoping for some time just the two of them. Being given so many responsibilities was an honour, but it meant there would be little time for them to spend together, so they were determined to do everything that they could spend time just the two of them.

* * *

Everybody else had gone to bed, leaving just Ginny and Harry. They were sat together on a large armchair in front of the fire. He had his arms round her, and she had put hers around him.  
"I doubt that this will happen often." She said, wanting to hear his voice.  
"Well we'll just have to make the most of it now then, won't we?" His reply reminded her of just how beautiful this moment was, his voice had been calm, and very quiet. Ginny tipped her head up so that she could see his face properly.  
"I was just thinking the same thing." She leaned up and kissed him softly. She knew that she had shocked him slightly on the train when those girls had come into the compartment. Ginny thought about explaining herself, but didn't want to interrupt the peacefulness.  
"I might have to see if the Room of Requirement has fixed itself tomorrow. It might be able to replicate this surrounding for us." He was laughing slightly as he pulled Ginny closer. Not that she needed to be much closer. There was only just space for both of them on the seat. If he pulled her much closer then she would end up sat on his knee, not that he seemed bothered by that thought.  
"You do that. It might give us a slightly bigger seat though, this one is rather small."  
"And that bothers you?" He really was laughing now.  
"Not as much as it would if dear Ron were here." She was laughing now too. He pulled her onto his knee so that she was facing him.  
"He would be bothered if he found out about this, wouldn't he." He kissed her. Ginny lost her train of thought, as she hugged him tighter to herself.

**A/N: Again, if you have any improvements that I could make to any part of the story, I would be grateful if you could send them to me. My knowledge of romance is rather limited to what I have read about so any help with these scenes would be very much appreciated.**


	7. The First Morning

When he woke up, it took him a few moments to remember where he was. It had been so long since he had been at Hogwarts that it felt like a dream. He quickly got up and dressed in his robes. Ron was waiting for him, looking at the familiar surroundings that adorned all of the dormitories in the Gryffindor tower. There had been extra rooms added for his year, which should have taken their NEWTs the previous summer, but had been invited back to take them this because of everything that had happened the previous year.

They went down to the common room, where they would meet Hermione to go down for breakfast. Ginny had told Harry that she was going down to breakfast with her friends in the common room before going to her dormitory. He didn't blame her, just because he was her boyfriend didn't mean that she couldn't spend time with her friends. However, going to breakfast without her meant that it would be safer to take the short cuts Harry had discovered while wandering around the castle at night.

Hermione greeted them, and they went down towards the great floor. Harry led them through a secret passage way behind a portrait on the sixth floor that took them to the second floor without using the marble staircase, and then down a hidden staircase that took them to the Entrance Hall. It was longer this way, but it meant avoiding Peeves and other students.

During breakfast, they saw Hagrid moving slowly down the Gryffindor table, handing out timetables to students. They were pleased that he had been appointed as Head of Gryffindor house, and had an Office on the first floor. This had happened when Professor McGonagall had been appointed as Headmistress, although they had a suspicion that Hagrid was under her guidance. When he reached them, Hagrid grinned and handed them each their timetables.  
"Are yeh happy to be back? Its brilliant havin' yeh in my house for my firs' year. I couldn't believe it when Professor McGonagall offered me the position."  
"I know, it's brilliant isn't it. I'm really happy to be back, and thankful to be able to take my NEWTs." Hermione explained, studying her timetable with care. "It's a good job I kept all of my books."  
"It's good that you're head of Gryffindor now. Blimey, I've got a free period after second lesson most days, and then another one second to last lesson as well." Ron was looking pleased at this. Harry knew that he'd have all the same free lessons as he had taken all the same subjects as Ron.  
"I can't wait to see you in action as our Head of Gryffindor. We're going to do our best to see Gryffindor win the House and Quidditch Cups for you this year, and I'll see to it that everyone in our house is on their best form constantly." Harry thought that he would make an effort to make sure that the Prefects kept all of the students in the house under control, as he thought that Hagrid might struggle without their help. He also thought that might explain Professor McGonagall's idea of having a Head Boy and a Head Girl in Gryffindor.  
"Well, I'd better give the res' of the house their timetables. Yeh're brilliant an' I'll be glad of yeh help. I'll send yeh an owl if yeh want to come to tea later on."  
"Bye Hagrid." They chorused.

Harry's first lesson was Potions, which went much better than he anticipated. Harry had stopped being quite so good at potions in the time in which he had given up the Half Blood Prince's book. Professor Slughorn had put this down to Ginny distracting him, but was pleased to see that the loss of his 'skill' had not lasted. Harry had retrieved the book at the end of his sixth year in case he needed it while hunting for horcruxes, and using it had managed to receive an O for Outstanding. This was good because it would make his career as an Auror secure. He had received a letter from the Department of Aurors a few weeks after defeating Voldemort telling him that if he got at least an E in all of the necessary subjects, then he would be automatically accepted onto their training programme, providing that he wanted to become an Auror. Ron, Hermione, Neville and several other members of Dumbledore's Arm had received letters offering them the same thing. Hermione had turned this down, as she wished to work in the Department for the Care of Magical Creatures department.

Harry spent his second lesson, which was charms, thinking about this. After finishing at Hogwarts, he was going to move to Grimmauld place with Ron and Hermione, and start working for the ministry. Mrs Weasley had offered them the chance to live at the burrow, but they had decided that it would be more practical for them to move to Grimmauld place. Harry was determined to find a way of removing the portrait of Mrs Black, and was planning on asking Professor Flitwick if he knew anyways of breaking the charm holding her portrait on the wall. Eventually, he wanted to make it a family home again. Now that he had to think about his future, he had realised that he really wanted to have his own family. Harry hoped that it would be Ginny helping him to raise this family, but he hadn't mentioned it to her, and wasn't going to in the near future.

Then he had a free lesson with Ron (Hermione had Arithmancy). Ron and Harry sat in the common room doing the homework they had been set for potions, so that Hermione could check it their free lesson that afternoon. It wasn't a long homework as Professor Slughorn thought that they deserved a few days to get used to being at Hogwarts again before he started giving them lengthy essays on different potions or ingredients. Eventually they finished writing out the properties of an effective cure. This was something that they had covered in their sixth year at Hogwarts, so it was simply a case of remembering what they had learnt, and checking their notes. They put their homework into their bags, and put the books they didn't need into their dormitory.

The dormitory was empty, and Ron took this moment to talk to Harry.  
"Has Ginny mentioned the rules that I tried to set to you? She hasn't really spoken to me since."  
"No, not specifically. She's joked about you cringing at us numerous times though. Not that there was any reason for you to cringe." Harry was suddenly aware that Ron wouldn't be best pleased if he found out about Harry and Ginny sitting together in the common room, and decided that he should try to stop him founding out.  
"Well, that's good. Do you think I should have made them suggestions instead of rules? She might have taken it better."  
"If I'm honest, we'd had this discussion anyway. She was only annoyed because you were interfering, I know that much. We were going to try to make it a little easier for you anyway. You know what I mean."  
"So you were actually planning to not be showy about it then?" Ron sounded hopeful.  
"Not exactly. We were planning on showing people beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are together and very much in love, but not going as far as snogging as such. And not snogging around you was also part of the plan." Harry didn't know if Ron understood what was meant, but he had tried to explain clearly.  
"I like that last part, and the first part sounds like something Hermione explained to me. She's been trying to hold my hand constantly since we got back."  
"I noticed. You should try and get an arm around her more often, that makes the other girls look rather put out, actually."  
"Yeah, thanks, I'll try that."

The bell went, signalling the start of their last lesson before lunch, which was Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry was interested to find out what their new teacher was like, and wondered if they would last more than a year. Harry knew that it had been nearly fifty years since anyone did manage, and some people said that the job was jinxed. They hadn't been entirely wrong, because Voldemort had cursed the position when Dumbledore refused to allow him to take it himself.

Ron and Harry slipped out of the common room onto the seventh floor corridor, and walked down a set of stairs hidden behind a suit of armour to the sixth floor, and then along the corridor to the classroom where Hermione was waiting for them.  
"What did you do with you free lesson then? Did you do your homework? I got given more, but it shouldn't take more than an hour or two." Hermione seemed fond of this idea, which didn't surprise Harry. She had gone a whole year without any proper homework, and Arithmancy was one of her favourites.  
"We did our homework, though it might be a good idea if you could check it for us." Ron said, watching the smile spread over Hermione's face. She hugged him. Harry suspected she was just delighted that they had actually done their own homework. She released Ron, and gave Harry a quick hug.  
"I wonder what this Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be like. He should be good, considering he was an Auror, but I hope that he doesn't stray too far from the course outline."  
"Speaking of our new teacher, it looks like he's bringing us in." Harry was curious to see how well the Defence Against the Darks Arts classes went this year.

They walked into the class room, to see that all the desks were piled up at the side of the room. Harry instinctively took out his wand, and noticed the other members of Dumbledore's Army had done the same thing.  
"Good, I can see the ones that are experienced in battle." Professor Williamson was behind them, wand raised. Harry, knowing that the Professor had already taken the rest of the class by surprise and wasn't planning on stopping there, flicked his wand while saying Protego in his head. Not a seconded later, the rest of the class was on the floor, jinxed. Harry felt a surge of pride for all of those left standing, for he had taught them all how to defend themselves in their fifth year at Hogwarts.  
"Taught them well, Potter. Silent spells, I see. You all anticipated my attack, and blocked it without hesitation. And there would have been no harm done if I hadn't attacked, as you only made a shield instead of counter attacking. That kind of thinking will put you at the top of your group during Auror training."

The rest of the class came to, and Professor Williamson told them what they'd be facing during the year. This included more training with the unforgiveable curses, although Harry sincerely hoped that there wasn't going to be many more wizards that used them as their first line of defence in his lifetime. However, as an Auror, he may be subject to them repeatedly, and he agreed that people were better off knowing how to deal with them. They may need this knowledge, as he had.

The bell for lunch went, and Harry, Ron and Hermione left the class room. They went up to the Gryffindor common room, to leave their heavy bags in their dormitories, and meet Ginny. When she saw Harry, she ran into Harry's arms. Harry hugged her tightly, enjoying the warmth of her body. He saw Ron slump off with his back to them out of the corner of his eye.  
"How were your lessons this morning? I've got so much work to do." She looked up at him, and he was worried to see that she had tears in her eyes.  
"Let's eat lunch, then go to the Library. My lessons weren't too bad, but I've got a twelve-inch piece on defending yourself against the dark arts due in on Wednesday." Harry hugged Ginny again, hoping that this work load would be reduced slightly. He knew that she had to catch up on everything that she had missed last year, and he was going to try to help her as much as he could. The only lesson Harry couldn't help Ginny with was Ancient Runes, but Hermione, who had taken this as one of her OWLs, had promised to help as much as she could.  
"I think I'm going to have to spend all of my time in the Library for the next term, that's how long it will take me to finish last year's work on top of this year's work." Harry felt sorry for Ginny, and seeing her distress, led her to where the Room of Requirement door was. He walked past it three times, and the doors appeared.


	8. In The Room Of Requirement

Carefully, Harry opened them. Ginny saw the look of complete amazement, and guessed that he had thought that the Fiendfyre might have destroyed the room beyond repair. Once inside the room, he shut the doors behind Ginny and she looked around herself. There were hundreds of books, and a portrait that she was certain led down to the kitchen. In the middle of the room was a large sofa, two wooden chairs, and a table. There was also a fireplace containing a warm fire, which had warmed the room.

She started to scour the shelves of books, seeing that they had all been labelled with what subject the books on that shelf would be useful in.  
"This is amazing, I might stand a chance if we have access to this all the time." She had cheered up slightly, and no longer felt like she needed to cry.  
"This is exactly what you need, by the looks of it. Should I leave you to look at the books while I go down to the kitchen and get some food?" harry looked worried, and she knew that it was because she had been so close to crying in the common room.  
"That would be great, thank you." She hugged him once more before he slipped through the passage behind the portrait.

Ginny returned to searching the shelves, and found a book that almost wrote the essay that she needed for the next day for her. Drawing this book from the shelf, she walked over to the table. It was only then that she noticed the draws underneath it. She pulled it open to discover numerous spare quills and more rolls of parchment than she'd seen in one place. Each roll of parchment had a label on it, stating its length. This indicated that if you chose the parchment with the length what you writing was supposed to reach, then you simply had to fill it up without having to measure it. This thought made Ginny laugh, because it was like something George would sell in the shop.

When Harry returned, she had already managed to write out the first half of her essay. He had a tray, that smelled of onion soup and some form of roast meat. He put the tray down, and Ginny was delighted to see that they had also managed to get a bottle of Butterbeer each. The meat looked like beef, and had a rich gravy sat in a pot next to it.  
"Was Kreacher in charge of supplying you or something? That looks amazing." Ginny was ginning at her boyfriend, remembering that he had inherited a house and a house elf.  
"You haven't done badly yourself. I was only gone for ten minutes and you've written half of your essay already." He slipped his arms around her, looking at her work. "And you've got small handwriting, which makes it far more significant." She was struggling to keep her focus.  
"Thank you, it's this book. All I'm having to do is write the information in my own words. Shall we eat?" At Ginny's suggestion, Harry stood up straight again, and placed a bowl of soup in front of her after she'd put the book and parchment in her bag. He then sat down with his own bowl of soup. They ate in silence, a mark of good the soup was. Then, Ginny served the beef and gravy, and they ate again.

Ginny stood up, looking around to see if the Room of Requirement had provide somewhere to wash her hands, and saw a door that would probably lead into some form of bathroom. She went through it, and found herself in a replica of the Prefect's bathroom. She would have thought that it was, but looking around, Ginny saw that the only exit was the one that led into the Room of Requirement. She quickly used the toilet, then washed her hands and face. Looking in the mirror, she saw that her eyes were still rimmed with red from her tears earlier. Ginny left the bathroom, cursing herself for being so weak. She had known that she was going to have a hard time catching up with her work, but it was worse than she had expected.

When she went back through to the Room of Requirement, Harry was sat on the sofa. With one last thought of the essays she had been set, Ginny sat down next to him with her back to the table. She felt like she was back inside the Gryffindor common room, except for the fact that it was completely empty.  
"You're smarter than you give yourself credit for, Ginny. I know that this much work is difficult to manage, but I know that you will cope, and as I hope I've proved by bringing you here, I'll do everything in my power to help you."  
"Thank you, I think I might need the help." This wasn't what she had expected.  
"I'm serious. You really worried me earlier, and I want you to enjoy yourself as well as earning your NEWTs. And on top of all that, you're my best chaser on the team."  
"You're still quidditch captain, I forgot about that. How did you get a new broomstick?" Ginny felt guilty for not knowing this. It was because she had been avoiding him all summer that she had missed all of this information.  
"Ministry decided that I deserved a new broomstick, so I have the latest version of the Firebolt. They also gave me a fair few galleons, seeing as I already have a house. I think this has something to do with Kingsley being Minister for Magic. Did you know that your family also got about two thousand galleons?"  
"Yeah, mum told me. Is it any good then, your new broomstick?" She was trying to make up for three months now, wishing that she had of paid attention and at least been his friend during the summer.  
"Why don't you try for yourself tonight?"  
"Are you serious?"  
"Of course. Why would I have said anything if I wasn't?" Harry reached over to Ginny and put his hands on her shoulders.  
"You might have decided to be a mean pig." She was trying not to laugh, but was failing miserably. Harry leaned over and hugged her, and she wrapped her arms around him.  
"What happened to the twelve-inches on defending yourself against the Dark Arts? I'm sure there will be a book in here that will help you."  
"I asked for a place that would help you to work and relax, unless you have the same paper."  
"No, but it might have one anyway. It can still create more bits and pieces when you're in the room."  
"I hope you're right. I might have defended myself numerous times, but I doubt I've used everything that's taught at NEWT standard."  
"Why don't you go and check then?"


	9. Flying On The Quidditch Pitch

The rest of Harry's day past without anything of much interest. He now had another essay, which was six inches on becoming an Animagus. When his last lesson finished, he rushed up to his dormitory to exchange his bag for his new broomstick. He met Ginny in the common room, who also had her broomstick, before walking quickly down to the Entrance Hall and quickly across the grounds to the changing room. They got changed into their quidditch robes quickly, and walked out onto the pitch.

Harry couldn't believe how good it felt to be on a full size quidditch pitch again. He had missed the last match in his sixth year, and had then spent a year hunting horcruxes. Since then, he had spent some time flying around the garden with Ron at the burrow, but that had been all the flying he could do. Now that he had the next hour or so in which he could practise flying, and maybe try a wronski feint, he felt like he had just taken Felix Felicis.

Harry let Ginny try out his broomstick while he stood and watched her. She was imitating ducking and dodging bludgers and chasers from the other team, with elaborate swerves, dives and loops. When Ginny had landed, she ran up to Harry and kissed him enthusiastically.  
"That is the best damn broomstick in the world, and I've just ridden it." Harry was delighted to see that Ginny was grinning from ear to ear.  
"If it makes you that happy, you can ride it for a bit every other night. That's if you want to, of course."  
"I love you."  
"I love you too." Harry gave Ginny her broomstick back, which was the latest Cleansweep, and mounted his own broomstick. "Shall we just fly, or do you want to practise with a Quaffle and some golf balls?"  
"I think we should just fly for a bit first, to get a feel for our new broomsticks, and then we can see were to go from there."  
"I like the sound of that. Let's go." Harry kicked off, rising thirty feet into the air quickly. He saw Ginny, a few seconds behind him.

He sped off and did a full lap of the stands, dived down to with two or three feet of the ground before pulling up again without slowing down. His mind automatically started to work out if his old broom had managed that quite so easily. It hadn't, which meant that no other seeker would be able to do this. If he was lucky, his opposition wouldn't pull up in time, leaving him to find and catch the snitch in peace. Harry looked around, and saw Ginny speeding swiftly towards the other end of the pitch. Before he had really thought about it, he was shooting off towards her.  
"Are you having fun over there?"  
"Naturally. That wronski feint was better than the one Krum did at Bulgaria's match against England." Harry felt a surge of pride.  
"Thank you. You're amazing at dodging the imaginary bludgers and members of the other team. It looks like they're going to be hard pressed to get the Quaffle off of you, or knock you off your broomstick."  
"Yeah, well. I'm looking forward to actually having something to dodge at practise and in the matches. When are the try-outs?"  
"I was thinking about not this Saturday, but the one after. You won't need to try-out though. I'll only be replacing the members that aren't playing anymore for whatever reason."  
"Sounds fair enough. But you'll need the rest of the team there to see how well they fit."  
"That's true. Actually, I'm going to book the pitch after dinner before someone else does."  
"I'll come with you, and then we can go back to the Room of Requirement. I've got another essay to do, and I need to practise for charms."  
"Ok, I think we've got a plan. I'll bring the invisibility cloak so that we don't need to worry about Filch or Mrs Norris."  
"Brilliant. Now where are those Quaffles?"

**A/N: Please leave reviews. I want to know what you liked and disliked, what worked and didn't work, and most of all, how I could make things better.**


	10. Hermione's Suspicions

The rest of the week went in much the same way, with some lunches in the Room of Requirement and others in the library. Ron liked the ones spent in the library best, because they were the lunches that he got to spend with all of his friends, including Luna and Neville. He was starting to feel the pressure of NEWTs though, as he received his third essay in one day. Ron had seen the inside of the Room of Requirement's form when Harry and Ginny went in there, because Harry had taken him to get a useful book out for their Transfiguration essay. All in all, he had enjoyed his first week back at Hogwarts, despite how difficult the lessons were.

Hermione had told him that when Harry and Ginny did go into the Room of Requirement, they actually did a lot more work than they did in the library because there were fewer distractions, and they could work while they were eating, which made Ron feel better. That, and the fact that Harry always lent him good books so that his essays were easier to write.

On Friday morning, Ron got an owl during breakfast. He was shocked to find that it was from The Ministry. It read:

_ Dear Mr Weasley,_

_ We are delighted to have received your owl accepting our offer regarding Auror training, and wish you luck in your NEWTs. As you will know, we have been rewarding those who fought valiantly against the Death Eaters and He Who Must Not Be Named, and would like to offer you five thousand Galleons in recognition of your efforts. You will find enclosed the key to your new Gringotts vault containing this money, and the vault number should you wish to order items via owl._

_ Yours Sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk,  
Head of Magical Law Enforcement Committee._

Ron was astonished. He had never owned so much at any one time personally. He quickly slipped the envelope into a pocket along with the parchment. Hermione was staring at her own piece of parchment with a look of surprise.  
"Did you get one too?"  
"Yes, but this is not the place to have this conversation. Harry, look. Ginny has an envelope the same as ours." Ron knew that Harry must have recognised the envelopes, having received one earlier that summer along with his new Firebolt V2.  
"How come it took them so long to send ours? You got yours two weeks after we got to the Burrow."  
"I don't know. Your mum got one the same time as me."  
"Oh for goodness sake. They're staggering them so that they don't forget people, but they don't lose too much gold at any one time. Is it really that hard to understand?" Hermione was looking at him, and she appeared to be frustrated with them.  
"Then why didn't Harry get his at the same time as us?"  
"Because Harry had highest priority, and they couldn't give too many out at the same time as him."  
"Guys, not the place." It was the way Harry said it that made Ron bite back his answer. Harry was looking at the Slytherin table on the other side of the room, where several students that were sons and daughters of known Death Eaters were eyeing them suspiciously.  
"Ok, Room of Requirement at lunch, we'll bring Ginny as well." Hermione suggested this, but Ron thought that it was more like a command.

As the morning past, Ron got more and more anxious to discuss these letters. Surely Mafalda Hopkirk, as head of the Magical Law Enforcement Committee, shouldn't have been the one to send them these letters. Ron felt uneasy about it, despite his excitement at knowing that he and Hermione could move into Grimmauld Place and pay for themselves immediately. It would stop him feeling bad about letting Harry pay for everything.

Then lunch came, and Ron, Harry and Hermione made their way up to the common room to meet Ginny. Harry quickly found Ginny sat by the fire, and told her that they were going to the room of requirement with Hermione and Ron.  
"Why? What's happened?"  
"We'll tell you when we get there, just make sure that you've got the letter you got at breakfast with you."

When they got into Room of Requirement, Harry saw that its layout had changed slightly. Instead of a sofa, there were four armchairs positioned in a horse shoe around the fireplace.  
"Would you please tell me what's going on now?" Ginny looked at Harry, annoyed at being rushed into a room for seemingly no reason.  
"Yes, I will. That letter you got earlier, was it from the Ministry of Magic?" Hermione seemed to take charge of explaining her suspicions. Besides, she had probably thought about it more and figured out what it could have meant.  
"Yes, it was telling me that I had five thousand Galleons in a vault in Gringotts. Why is it so important?"  
"Who signed it?"  
"Mafalda Hopkirk. Why is this important?"  
"Ginny, she shouldn't have been the one signing it." Hermione explained this. "It should have been either Kingsley Shacklebolt or one of his under-secretaries."  
"Hermione, do you not think that they might have been busy? Just because it wasn't signed by the right person, doesn't mean the Ministry is about to fall again." Harry was just as confused as Ginny was. He didn't see how the wrong person signing a letter could mean anything significant.  
"I thought it was just that at first, but the Ministry also have no reason to be staggering the arrival of these letters. They have far more than enough money to send them all out at the same time. I didn't realise that it was only the Order, the DA, and students that stayed to fight being rewarded. I'd have thought that there were others as well, people that had lost their family, but when I talked to Padma earlier, she hasn't had anything yet, and neither has Dennis Creevey. They should have been amongst the first, because of Pavrati and Colin both dying at the hands of Death Eaters. But they haven't."  
"What happened to Pavrati?" Harry hadn't known that she had been amongst those to die.  
"She got killed just before you destroyed Voldemort. If she had of hung on for another minute, she probably would have survived. Padma's beside herself, losing both her twin and Lavender."  
"I wondered why she's always crying." Harry looked at Ron, knowing that he was probably about to be attacked by Hermione for being insensitive.  
"Yes, Ronald. Anyway, Padma should have got something at the same time as Harry, or possibly before, but she hasn't had any contact with the Ministry at all. Dennis won't get anything at all, even though Colin… But he didn't fight because he was underage." Harry felt a strange twinge welling up in him. He had been fond of Colin Creevey, who had followed him around everywhere whenever he got the chance. It had been difficult to see his body, lying in the Great Hall with his parents both leaning over him.  
"So what does it mean then Hermione?" Harry knew the tone of voice Ginny was using, and guessed that she thought that Hermione was being dramatic.  
"Well, it could mean that there are still dark wizards inside the ministry, threatening to take control again."  
"And so what if they are? They aren't going to try now while they're so weak and few in number."  
"Maybe, but the Ministry is also at its weakest, not expecting them to attack."  
"And what are we supposed to do? Arm the whole country again? There probably won't be an attack, so we'd be armed for nothing."  
"But it's better to be prepared for an attack that doesn't come than it is to be unprepared because an attack seems unlikely, but then happens. If there isn't an attack but the country is prepared for one, nobody will be any worse for it."  
"Hermione, no offence, but you're starting to sound like Mad Eye." Ron spoke with extreme caution. "But that doesn't mean it's a bad idea, before you get annoyed." Hermione looked at Ron, seemingly ignoring the first part.  
"Thank you Ron."  
"Hermione, if there is dark wizards in the ministry, they clearly are prepared for them. The Aurors are constantly running checks, and Kingsley is delegating important things to people we can trust and have been cleared by the Aurors." Harry was getting tired of her and Ginny arguing about it. "Ginny's right, they are highly unlikely to attack with so few of them. And if they do try, I think Kingsley being an Auror as well as Minister means that they've thought about this and have prepared. However, being prepared ourselves can't do any harm, if Professor McGonagall doesn't mind us starting Dumbledore's Arm again." He knew that this might make Ginny happier if the preparations involved starting the DA again.  
"Ok, fine. But don't go too far and get involved in things that you don't have to be again."


End file.
